Warm
by The Smiling Shadow
Summary: A Jones story. Jones takes the shell of a woman held hostage by Rebels. She must be taken to interrogation to wipe her memory of the whole experience. But she tells Jones she could feel him when he took over her, and he felt warm.


Am I Warm?

They're running like they always do. For a brief moment Smith wonders why, and the question makes its way to the thoughts of Jones and Brown through the earpieces. And soon Smith's annoyance is spread to them.

They always run, and they always die. There is no use in running, there is no purpose in it. Only to extend the inevitable. Only to die tired, and in fear. Why couldn't they just die? Why couldn't they just...stop?

Smith can see them jumping from the rooftops, and begins to follow them. Their black trench coats waving through the air. As if those coats meant anything, as if they were a sign of power. As if those coats were suits. As if those humans were their equals. Smith frowns, and it makes the others frown. He places his hand over his earpiece, and sends in orders.

Brown stands in an alley, looking up on the ground, and holds his earpiece closely. Soon he begins to run on foot through the streets infested with human life.

And Jones stands in one place, holding his earpiece, and looking up. He does not begin to run, or turn his head. He simply begins to walk and a rather slow pace into a building. Opening the door, and making his way to the elevator.

Meanwhile Smith's firing his gun, and only hitting a waving trench coat. Brown runs through the streets, looking up towards the roofs, seeing the Rebels jump between buildings.

It will be the same as the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that. Shoot the gun and what the Rebel die, make sure its dead, and the Matrix will dispose of the body. That is how it is. It is how it has always been for them. It will always be this way for them.

Then why does it feel so different?

"Run!" One of them yells.

But the other one stops and starts to fire his machine gun.

"God damn it! Run don't shot!" The other one yells.

"I can hit him!"

"No one hits them!"

The bullets fly towards Smith, and he dodges them easily. They fly by almost in slow motion for him, as if they're not moving at all. And he stands up, and looks at the Rebels.

"Oh God..."

"Come on!"

It makes Smith smile, as the one of them pulls the other to start to run again. To run and drop the gun. And they begin to stumble running across the rooftop. Brown looks up, holding his earpiece. And Jones steps out of his elevator.

The Rebels now begin to run into the building, they can't run much anymore, and one of them pushes the other, as if they're really going to make it. Smith jumps and runs towards them, and Brown breaks the door open from the ground and begins to run up the stairs. And Jones stands there in the hallway with his gun ready to fire.

That's when someone steps out from her apartment room out into the hallway. She turns her head, playing with her keys, and sees Jones, gun and all. She doesn't say a word, and only stares at the gun, before backing into her door and tries to open it.

Jones turns his head towards her, and opens his mouth, searching for an explanation.

"Run!"

But the Rebels run into the hallway, and accidentally running into her.

"Oh God!" The woman begins to scream.

The Rebels scramble when they see Jones, and grab the first thing they see. They grab her and put her in front of them, a shield against Jones, and put a gun to her head.

"God, don't shoot me! Don't shoot me!" She yells.

"Shut up!" One of the Rebels yells at her.

"I was just going to get some Aspirin! I swear! That's all!" She's screaming.

"I said shut up!" The Rebels yells again. "Let us go, or we'll kill her! We know how you protect your batteries!" The Rebel looks at Jones.

Jones tilts his head for a moment, and then loads his gun, pointed at them.

"Don't shoot me!" The woman yells.

Jones' hand shakes.

"Please don't shoot me!" She cries.

Brown comes running with his gun in his hand, and stops behind Jones. Smith runs behind the Rebels, with his gun loaded. The woman is crying now, shaking within the arms of the Rebels, and a gun to her head. And the Agents speak without words. They argue among each other with gestures, and the movement of their hands. Jones turns to Brown, agreeing with him on whatever they're arguing about.

"Fine." Smith says. "Jones." He nods to him.

Jones puts his gun down, and stands still for a moment. And then leaves his human host in a show of light and green coding. His programming leaves the human, his face is lost in the coding, and a human with blonde spiked hair drops to the floor, his energy given to Jones.

The woman cries, and screams.

"Oh Shit!" The Rebels scream.

Then the woman begins to writhe in pain, and she can feel something inside her, wanting to get out. Something pushing itself out, something pulling her in. She screams, as the Rebels push her away from them. It's inside her, taking her over, dragging her under. Making her shut her eyes, and sleep. Someone... talking to her, telling her to stop resisting. And someone else's hand reaches out of her own.

He's taking her over, and she can't stop him. Even now she can feel it, herself becoming something else, changing, and shifting. And there's a man whispering to her, telling her it will be okay. A man pulling her down, and whispering. There's a man in a suit inside her.

A man pulling her down, and holding her down.

And now she is Jones.

The Rebels have no time to speak as they begin to run, busting through the woman's apartment. Smith is the first to follow them and fire his gun, hitting one in the leg.

Brown begins to follow Smith, and Jones looks down at the blonde spiked hair man that gave him a shell. Brown looks back at Jones.

"Leave him." Brown says.

Jones nods to Brown as they follow the sound of Smith's gunshots. But it doesn't matter, Smith is already walking towards them, putting his gun away. He says nothing, and simply passes them.

"Leave the woman, we will need to wipe her memory." Smith says, without evening looking at them.

Jones nods, as if Smith is looking at him, and begins the process all over again of leaving a host, and returning to the man that lies on the floor. He saw nothing, he was just a random man in a crowd that Jones had taken over. This woman...This woman had seen too much.

Jones now lies on the floor, where Smith stares don't at him.

"Ah!" Brown yells quietly.

The two look over at Brown, who was now struggling to keep the young unconscious woman on her feet. Jones quickly comes to his aid, and places the woman in his arms.

Smith stares at Brown, rather disappointed, and walks out into the hallway.

"Where's the car?" Smith speaks out loud.

They don't understand why he chooses to speak out loud, it is simpler just to speak through the earpieces. They don't ask, but simply answer his questions through the earpieces.

Jones allows Brown to walk ahead of him, since he now holds the woman in his hands. She is not a problem for Jones, he just has to be gentle, a trait he has not yet done. He soon lags behind Brown and Smith, holding her in his arms, wondering if he is holding her correctly. He was trying to make sure he wasn't hurting her.

They walk among the alley ways where not many people will see them, and this young woman in a red shirt with blonde hair.

Brown stops and waits for Jones to catch up for a moment, while Smith moves ahead of them.

"I think she's waking up." Jones comments.

Brown tilts her head at the woman, and proceeds to poke her in the arm. Jones then steps back from him.

"Don't do that." Jones says.

"Why?" Brown asks.

"You'll wake her up."

"I thought she was already waking up."

Jones didn't reply back, but still seemed to keep her a safe distance away from Brown's curiosity.

"Hurry up." Smith calls from ahead of them.

The woman stirs in Jones' arms, turning her head.

"I told you." Jones looks at Brown.

Brown says nothing, titling his head, trying to look at the human woman. It is not so often they come in such close contact with a human, without an interrogation. It is a rare opportunity to study the creature they kill so often. To touch it without it dying, or coughing up blood. To stare at it, without them screaming in return. To look at it, without pulling a gun out.

Smith sighs at the two of them behind him, as they finally reach the car. Smith goes to the passenger seat, instead of his regular seat in the back. Jones will be there, since he has the woman, and Smith rather give up his seat than hold that thing. Brown will drive this time. He sits and watches them catch up to him.

"She's waking up." Jones said a little worried. "What do I do if she wakes up?" Jones looks at Brown.

"Perhaps she won't wake up." Brown says, opening the door for Brown.

The woman stirs in his arms, as he moves her to sit in the car. He raises her head up, and adjusts her position. It is enough to make even Smith look over. They all stare at each other for a moment.

"What happened...?" She manages to whisper.

Jones looks at Smith, not knowing what to do. Smith takes a moment, before deciding what to do.

"Those men with the guns hit you in the back of the head, we were able to disable them, they are going to prison. We are here to help you." Smith said.

"No..." She whispers.

Her eyes are closed, as they all stare at her, moving her hand around, blindly searching for something.

"Someone was there with me..." She whispers.

And she touches Jones by the shoulder.

"It was you." She opened her eyes.

Jones frowned and looked at Smith for some sort of help, guidance, anything... But Smith returned his plea with looking away, not knowing an answer.

"You were there with me... You were the one holding me." She goes on to say.

Jones lowers his head towards her.

"Ex- Excuse me?" Jones asks.

She smiles.

"When I fell, when I couldn't move or scream in the dark...You were there, you were holding me...You were moving for me..." She says.

"When you took over her shell." Brown explains.

When they take over someone...When they use a human host, the human's mind is put to rest, in some sort of sleep.

"You were so warm..."

"Warm?" Jones asks her.

"You were holding me..."

That's when the woman closes her eyes, and goes back to sleep, in his arms again.

Jones looks at Brown and Smith for a moment.

"Can I be warm?" Jones asks.

"I don't know." Brown replies.

"Are we even warm?" Jones asks. "Am I warm?"

Brown tilts his head and reaches over to touch Jones hand, he grabs it firmly and examines it.

"I don't feel any warmth." Brown says.

Brown then leans over and touches Jones' face, and to them there is nothing wrong. Jones only wants to know if he is warm, and Brown is going to answer him. That's all.

"I don't think you are." Brown says.

Smith looks away.

Jones touches Brown's hand.

"Are you sure?" Jones asks.

"Yes." Brown says.

"Smith, am I warm?" Jones reaches over towards Smith, and lays his hand out for Smith to touch.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Smith says, and pushes Jones' hand away. "Let's just proceed, the woman won't remember any of this."

Jones held the woman in his arms, and stared at her, wondering if she spoke the truth, if she was lying to him. He wanted to know if he was warm. He wanted to know if he should be worried about this or pleased. He wanted to know...

He wanted to be warm.

llllllllllllll

This Jones and Brown Kodak moment was brought to you about someone asking there should be more Jones fanfics, well here you go!


End file.
